Chiffon Cake with a Tuscan Twist!

What an exciting year 2009 was. Towards the end it got a little too exciting and I was forced to take a break from posting. Now that the schedule of promoting Healthy Bread in Five has slowed down and the fevered pitch of the holidays has subsided I can get back to what I love. Don’t get me wrong I love my job, but when it all comes at once it can feel like too much of a good thing. Baking cake is a pure comfort. It is how I got started in this career in the first place, I needed a way to calm down after work, so I baked. After a particularly stressful day at work I whipped up a pile of cakes and my husband suggested I go to culinary school. I think I quit my job the next day and enrolled in the culinary program at the local technical college. It didn’t take long to figure out that I LOVED the study, but not the school. After much consideration I packed my bags, left my husband and dog behind (just for a while) and headed off to the CIA in NY. I was in heaven. Even after serving my time in restaurant kitchens, delivering wedding cakes to psycho brides and having to make 3000 spun sugar curls for a benefit dinner in the sweaty month of August, I love my job. So, despite being exhausted at the end of 2009 and needing a rest, I head into 2010 with a whole lot of gratitude and excitement about what this year brings.

As some of you may know from my facebook page my husband/web designer/IT guru is in the processes of revamping ZoëBakes, stay tuned for those changes soon. I am also working on a 3rd book with Jeff, about Pizzas and Flatbreads from around the world. The project has me obsessed with Italy and other points on the map where these breads are eaten. This summer my family will embark on a journey to find, taste and bake some of them. We’ll start in Italy, so I’ve been gearing up, which in my world means cooking Italian foods. Hence the Tuscan Twist on Chiffon cake. Traditionally it is like a super luscious angel food cake that is made with oil and egg yolks in addition to lots and lots of whites whipped and folded in. Instead of using a neutral flavored oil, which only adds to the texture, but not much in the way of flavor, I used a fruity olive oil. Bellissimo!

Months ago the makers of Zoe Extra Virgin Olive Oil got in touch with me to see if I wanted to sample their product. Of course, given the name, I was well aware of their oil and had been using it for years, but I wasn’t about to refuse their offer. It was the perfect match for this cake, enough flavor to have a presence, but not so strong as to be overly assertive. It is wonderful with a dusting of powdered sugar and a spoon of marmalade or with a drizzle of ganache. I served the version with ganache at my brother’s engagement party and it was a huge hit! (Yes, there is a very exciting wedding cake in my future! But, that is a story for another day.)

Prepare a tube pan with a piece of parchment cut to fit the bottom, not essential, but makes it much easier to remove.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with rack in center.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and 1 cup of the sugar together in a bowl, set aside. In another bowl stir together the egg yolks, juice, zest, and oils, set aside.

Add the dry ingredients to the yolk mixture and whisk together until smooth, set aside.

In a stand mixer beat the egg whites and cream of tartar on high speed until medium peaks, about 2 minutes. Turn down the speed to medium-low and slowly sprinkle the sugar over the whites. Don’t dump it all at once or you will deflate the whites. Return to high speed and beat for 1 to 2 more minutes until stiff glossy peaks.

Add about a cup of the whites to the egg yolk/flour mixture and

whisk it in to lighten up the yolk mixture.

Dump the lightened yolk mixture over the top of the remaining whites and

gently fold them in using a rubber spatula.

Quickly pour the batter into the prepared pan and run a knife around the batter several times to pop any large air bubbles.

Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the cake bounces back to the touch.

Remove it from the oven and immediately set it upside down over a bottle to cool. This takes about 45 minutes. If you rush it the cake will collapse.

Usually the cake will fall out of the pan when you give it a few gentle shakes, but sometimes you need to run a thin blade around the edge. I used a knife, but it is safer to do this with a spatula, so you won’t cut into the cake by accident.

I set the cake on the table to grab my camera and came back to find that my husband had taken a slice. Once I finished taking these photos he promptly finished half of the cake, only stopping when I reminded him that his kids would be mighty peeved if they didn’t get a slice.

I dusted the rest of it with powdered sugar and slathered my slice with marmalade.

This cake is now one of my family’s all time favorites and has the particularly sweet association with Heather and Carey’s engagement party! I’m thrilled for them as they embark on life’s wild journey together, not to mention what a gorgeous couple they are. (Proud sister moment!)

What a beautiful cake! I’m very into olive-oil infused cakes at the moment. There’s something so wonderfully satisfying about them – both in texture and flavour. Love that first shot by the way. The sprinkling of icing sugar looks like fairy dust. Magical.

I love baking with olive oil, I even use it for palachinke (crepes)! The flavor becomes very subtle when heated and I still consider it a healthier alternative to other oils.
Lovely cake, Zoe. I may add some finely chopped rosemary for a twist when I bake it!

I love cooking with olive oil but have never tried with my baking (afraid of the taste), but I will have to look for the Zoe Extra Virgin Olive oil and give it a try!
As for the new bread book-if you are interested in researching Arabic flatbreads, you would be more than welcome to stay over! We would love to host you in the UAE!

Looks yummy as always. I was able to come by your first book due to a local bookstore going out of business. Though I’d rather they stay in business, I’m not going to argue with the ability to obtain a mass amount of books. The pizza/foccacia/flatbreads book should be a very interesting experience. Just within the U.S. you can find a variety of pizzas and who thinks who is best. Will this extend into such breads a Naan?

Hey Zoe, belissimo chiffon cake ! Just need to get some eggs to make this cake.
Are you planning to make a stop in Brazil for your pizza and flatbread research ? We have great pizzas over there ! And non-traditional sweet pizzas ! I just love one that has brigadeiro (a brazilian treat made with condensed milk and chocolate and strawberries.

This cake evokes such great, warm memories of my family’s motto: Food is love. My mom used to make orange chiffon cake for my birthday every February, her recipe called for peanut oil. My Mom died in 1981 but I have the tube pan that baked her wonderful chiffon cake once a year for me. I will be taking your version out for a test drive this birthday on the 11th. Thanks!

Do you think this cake would work with lemon juice and zest instead? I made a french yogurt cake with lemon and olive oil the other day, and I loved the taste, but was disappointed in the texture. Would love to try this instead.

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Welcome to Zoë Bakes

I'm Zoë François and I love to bake. This is where I play with sugar and take the mystery out of baking everything from cookies to wedding cakes. I studied pastry at the CIA, worked in restaurants, write cookbooks and now you can also find my creations on the Cooking Channel, Fine Cooking Magazine, General Mills, Cooking Club Magazine and Breadin5.com. More...